St. Martin Trip Report

maho beach

St. Martin was named by Christopher Columbus in 1493. In the 17th century the French and Dutch arrived and they have "shared" the island ever since. Half of St. Martin is French while the other half is Dutch. The population of the island is about 70,000 and it measures about 33 square miles. St. Martin is a great travel destination because it is like going to two islands. The people are friendly, the water beautiful, and there are lots of things to do.


Sunny Trip Reports Island Rating* Click here for Explanation of Ratings
Accomodations
Snorkeling
Beaches
Dining
Activities
Shopping
Food Shopping
Friendliness
Cultural Experience
Value for Money
Would We Return

Grand Case Beach Club

While in St. Martin we stayed at the Grand Case Beach Club. The facility has a great location in that it is within walking distance of Grand Case. It is also located directly on the water and has a GREAT water sports program. The rooms were a little dated and quite small. View from our balcony at Grand Case Beach Club
	Our studio loft room included a full kitchen.
The beach at Grand Case. Sunset Cafe is in the background.
	Sunset Cafe is a nice place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Fresh Flowers in our room.

St. Martin Beaches

Orient Beach is the most popular beach on the island. It has numerous beach bars, activity shops, and restaurants along the beachfront. (Orient beach is a clothing optional beach)
	We arrived early so we had the beach to ourselves. (Darn, I hate it when that happens.)
Dawn Beach was probably our favorite beach on the island. It is somewhat secluded, has nice white sand, and beautiful blue water. The snorkeling is good here, although it was very rough the day we visited.

Carroll enjoying a Carib at Scavengers beach bar on Dawn Beach.
	Maho Beach with the Sunset Beach Bar in the distance. The Sunset Beach Bar was a nice place to watch the planes land at the airport. (And the daily special is "topless women drink for free".) Everyday at about 3:00, the bar starts getting crowded with people waiting to see the big 747s land. (see below) The airport landing strip is literally starts on the beach.
Maho Beach has a few large visitors in the afternoon hours!
	Phillipsburg Beach

Olgie's Beach Bar is a great place to unwind when your tired of shopping in Phillipsburg. It is located just off the main drag on the ocean. (Down from the center pier)

The Butterfly Farm, St. Martin

The Butterfly Farm in St. Martin was a very unique and worthwhile place to visit. The Butterfly farm is a large greenhouse full of over 40 different varieties of butterflies. These butterflies come from all over the world. The experience consists of a VERY good tour of the facilities which includes everything you always wanted to know about butterflies. It was very informative and well worth the time and money spent. If you visit their web site they will tell you which plants to plant in your yard to attract butterflies. (really cool stuff) Below are some pictures we took while we were there.

St. Martin General Information

Transportation We rented a car on St. Martin because we wanted the flexibility of seeing the island and not relying on taxis. The car rentals are very inexpensive, roads are well marked, and driving is on the right. We rented from Prestige Rental Car, (which is owned by Value Rental Car), and they were great. Our car only cost $25 a day and they even gave us a lift to the airport. They have an office on the Grand Case Beach Club property.
	Eating The food on St. Martin was wonderful. You can find all styles and price ranges. We ate at many lolos, beach bars, and a few nice restaurants.

Rosemary's is located in the Le Mer portion of Marigot. It is near the water where the ferries depart. The L'amaudier Beach Restaurant was our favorite on the island. It is located in Grand Case and sits directly on the beach. We had a great lunch looking out over beautiful Grand Case Bay. Our seaside lunch at L'amaudier. (Grand Case Beach Club is in the background)
One night we ate at one of the lolos in Grand Case called Talk of the Town. The food was very good and quite inexpensive. As you can see from the picture, this place is not white tablecloth.
	Our last night we ate at the lolos across from Talk of the Town. Carroll had the fresh lobster, shown above, and I had the spareribs. The lobster was excellent.
Shopping St. Martin has great shopping. The French side has the town of Marigot which contains some downtown shops and a flea market located by the pier. (see above) The Dutch side has the town of Phillipsburg which has some of the best prices in the Caribbean. All sorts of jewelry, linens, liquor, and tourist shops. Most items are 25% to 50% less than the US with no sales tax.
	Casino If you ever get tired of beaching, eating and shopping, you can always try your luck at one of the casinos. We spent about a hour in the Dolphin Casino and it was very nice. (We even walked out ahead)